Angels & Demons
by moodiful819
Summary: It was prophesized that the world would be plunged into darkness and humanity would end, but it also prophesized of an order that would save us all. Though they are strong, dark forces lie in wait and the fate of the world rests in their hands. Sasusaku.
1. Chapter 1: Origin

Something I thought up in the shower and started as a scrap from a Sasusaku fic and a NejTen scene. It's sort of religious because of what happens in the story, but yeah. Just tell me what you think and if you like it, I'll try to continue it. (Just don't expect it to be anytime soon, I have a lot of fics in the works and this is still in the works. Lemons in the future are yet to be determined.)

Pairings: Sasuxsaku, NaruxHina, NejxTen, ShikaxIno, OCxOCxKaka

Key: "Talking"  
'_Thinking'  
__Flashback/ book  
_'**Inner'**

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* * *

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Chapter 1: Origin

_In the beginning, when the universe was still young and the heavens were just being formed, there were two brothers. One was of dark hair and dark eyes; his name was Lucifer. The other was of light hair and light eyes, his name forgotten with the sands of time. _

_The two of them ruled the heavens together, structuring life and the living side by side, but one day, something happened. Lucifer was sitting amongst the stars, gazing at the heavens he created when he realized something…He created them. He created everything he saw. His brother had done nothing compared to his power and that's when the age of darkness began. _

_Lucifer began to question his brother's worth; the brother that spent his time just listening and watching while Lucifer built and created. Eventually, the darkness manifested itself in Lucifer and the white robes he wore began to stain with his evil._

_One night, as his brother slept, Lucifer crept into his room, a dagger poised over his own flesh and blood. As he looked upon the sleeping countenance of his brother, the dagger in his hands, he felt his soul wage war within his body. Part of him wanted to stop, wanted to leave this and forget it ever happened, but the other part wanted—lusted for a world of his own. In the end, the darkness won and he stabbed his brother. _

_His brother had not screamed, had not cursed like Lucifer had expected. Instead, the brother looked upon him with a sad confusion, silently asking the question of 'why?' but Lucifer was too far gone. The darkness had corrupted his soul and he lusted for power. The trifling feelings of a brother meant nothing to him now. _

_As Lucifer held the dagger and lifted it to slay his brethren, the blood that had been spilled had lifted from the brother's robe. Instead, it crawled onto Lucifer's skin, staining him and his robe with his blood. In his shock, the dagger was dropped and split into pieces, the fragments becoming horns atop his head and claws on his hands and feet. His teeth became fangs and a black tail pierced through his skin and slinked down his body. As he transformed, his body set fire and he threw his head back as he writhed and screamed in agony. The brother watched on sadly as flames engulfed his body. With his final breath, Lucifer cursed his brother and the brother forgave him of his sin, but it was already too late. Lucifer had been lost and heaven had only one ruler._

_Time passed slowly, but surely, and heaven had completed its birth, the brother as its ruler. Though he had banished Lucifer from ever returning, he was not completely heartless. He had given Lucifer a home of his own under the last creation they had made together. A small planet called Earth. The brother gave Lucifer the task of ruling the realm called Hell, the realm for those who had sinned like him. Lucifer accepted the role, relishing the power he held, but he never forgave his brother for what he had become._

_The brother lived in comfort, but alone. His loneliness saddened him and he made creatures to cure him of this, but none seemed to fill the void in his heart. Eventually, he decided to make a creature in his image. The creature he named man, but Lucifer had not appreciated this creature that bore the face of the brother that had banished him from his home and as another creature his brother made called woman strayed in the sacred garden of Eden, Lucifer was too tempted not to stir up trouble. Taking the form of a serpent, he tricked the two creatures into eating the forbidden fruit. _

_He laughed as they were banished to the barren planet, but fumed as his brother took pity on the creatures and gave them life reminiscent of their old home on the planet Earth. Centuries passed and the creatures now called 'humans' began to worship the two brothers. The humans gave names to them. They named the brother who gave them life 'God' and the one who had condemned them 'the Devil.' Though Lucifer was peeved that they loved his brother more, he was pleased they gave him attention eagerly. They mentioned him in the pagan songs they sang and the rituals they gave in addition to the many names he wore proudly on his belt._

_It was around this time that the brother now called 'God' decided he would need help with the humans and so, he created a new being in his image. He made human-like creatures with large white wings and named them angels, but Lucifer grew angry and terrorized the humans on Earth. His brother asked for a deal and Lucifer demanded his own creations. The brother granted them. To his cherubs, Lucifer gained minions; to his angels, Lucifer had gained the succubus and the most important, the demon._

_Soon, Lucifer ordered his people onto Earth and darkness spread across the land. The angels descended and they waged war. In the end, heaven prevailed, but heavy prices were paid on both sides. Lucifer and his brother agreed to stop, but a human on Earth saw a vision and told God of what she saw. Legend foretells of the end of humanity, but it also foretells of our savior. The prophecy says a small order shall be found, five holy unions, and the restoration and the death of an angel. _

_The—_

The book was suddenly shut and the reader scrunched her nose. "Weird," she mumbled to herself.

"Sakura?"

The girl looked up to see the used-bookstore owner coming to the back where she was. "Yeah, Hitomi?"

Hitomi was three years her senior with blonde hair and light-brown eyes. He had shoulder-length hair that was always pulled into a ponytail under a blue or red bandanna. Hitomi sighed. "You know I love you and all, but I gotta close up for lunch. You gonna buy something or what?" he asked with exasperation.

"Yeah, just a minute." With a nod, Hitomi left his best customer.

Sakura stood up and placed the book on an empty shelf before looking at the mirror hanging on the door to the storage room and scanned herself over. If asked, Haruno Sakura wouldn't say much about herself. She was only slightly taller than average, had long pink hair, green eyes, and was considered a genius for a 20-year-old. If asked what was special about her, she would say she had reading glasses and that her birthday was coming up.

'_Three days,'_ she thought, looking at the three she made with her fingers.

"Sakura!"

"I'm coming!" she hollered back before looking at her stack of books. She had about five minutes to sort which books she wanted to keep before Hitomi lost patience and kicked her out. If it was up to her, she would keep all of them, but she was running out of room in her house.

She scanned the titles quickly, going from the roughly 60 book titles she started with to 20. Finally, she looked at the book she was reading before. _'__The Book of Origin__,'_ she thought. It was a weird book, seeming like it would better suit a dark cult or a religion nut, but somehow, she found herself walking with it to the checkout counter where Hitomi rolled his eyes. "Finally! So, how was it today?"

"Eh."

"Really?" he asked, frowning as she slid the books onto the counter. "Jeez Sakura, you'd think you'd be running your own bookstore at that house of yours," he said as he moved the thick books along. Suddenly, his hand stopped on the one she had been reading earlier. "Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you want to get this? I mean, are you feeling okay?" he asked, his hand resting lightly on the engraved cover.

"What do you mean?" she glowered, hinting pain for the wrong answer. Hitomi flinched at the look. He'd been on the receiving end of those looks and her hits were just as deadly. Who knew a little girl like her could punch so hard? He rubbed his jaw reminiscently from the last time she socked him for a smart remark and scratched a bit of his stubble. He really needed to shave.

"Well, it doesn't seem like the kind of book you'd usually read." He shrugged. "But people change all the time; here you go," he said handing the bag of books to her. Sakura nodded thankfully to Hitomi and left the store, her pink hair trailing out of sight and he sighed and sank against his stool before pulling out a cigarette and looked around at the miles upon endless miles of wooden bookshelves and the contents they held. Just then, the bell on the door rang.

Hitomi looked up to see a man with raven hair come in. Dressed in black leather pants, black boots, and a black trench coat, he looked like he could be one of the villains from one of the books in his store—or a model, which made more sense seeing how he was wearing that much black when it was almost summer.

'_Jeez, how can he not be hot in that? I'm in a T-shirt and I'm sweating.'_

"Hey, we're closed. Come back in half an hour," Hitomi said gruffly.

The man turned to face him. He couldn't have been much older than Sakura. Strange. His eyes were black, like obsidian and he had pale skin, almost unearthly so.

Suddenly, the man looked up at him and a rush of wind passed through Hitomi. It was only a second, but it felt like someone had dipped his soul in darkness and he swore he saw something. It looked like a dungeon, chains dangling ominously from the dank walls, and in the middle was a blue pool of what looked like sludge, and something reached out to him as it crawled out. It felt like it was trying to drag him down and it was cold and when Hitomi blinked, he was left with a chill. The man in black calmly walked down the shelves, his trench coat trailing behind him.

* * *

The dark-haired man trailed his gaze over the various titles, dragging a long finger over the raised spines as the smell of ink and aged paper filled his senses. "Did you find it yet?"

"No, not yet, Sasuke-sama. Are you sure it's here?"

Usually, Sasuke did not allow such insubordination. To question one's master meant death, but it was too easy to kill his minion and he had use for her. "Positive. _He_ told me himself that the book was here. We had gotten a tip from one of the others that it was here."

'_And after centuries of searching, it better be here.'_ Sasuke thought darkly, his eyes flashing red for a second. He took in a breath to calm himself, willing his eyes to return to their dark color once more.

"He said it was to be on this shelf, right he—where is it?" Sasuke asked with slight alarm at the vacant spot on the shelf.

"Perhaps he moved it," his minion suggested.

"No, the owner is too lazy to organize it by alphabet. He just restocks when needed and operates the register."

"Didn't the informant give you that information three weeks ago? Maybe someone bought it then."

Sasuke was about to nod. It was possible, but then he noticed something. "No, this was bought recently. The dust has been disturbed and it hasn't had a chance to resettle. Kumori."

"Yes, Sasuke-sama?" asked the shadow creature as she hovered by his shoulder.

"When I sent you into that man's body, did he have any recent memories of the book?"

"Big, heavy thing? Standard, foreign text?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Now that I think about it, yeah. He sold it just before we got here. To a girl. She had pink hair and she looked about your age. I believe the name was Haruno Sakura."

Sasuke snorted. "Nonsense, I'm nearly a thousand years old, if not older."

"Actually, you're a thousand two-hundred seventy-five, but you know what I mean."

"Alright. Think you can find her?"

"Yes. Her trail is still pretty fresh."

"Alright. Seek her out. Follow her home to find the book, but don't go inside. The quarry is mine."

"Yes, Sasuke-sama."

Sasuke nodded as it bowed deeply and watched his shadow separate from his body, snorting when he thought of how a human would react if they saw what had just happened. Unlike them, he had no need for his shadow. Such foolish creatures. Give them something foreign and they begin to run mindlessly with fear. Though highly amusing, the mortals were fools.

'_Such worthless creatures,'_ he thought and let out a hiss, a mix of pleasure and pain as delicious heat seared his hand and the tips of his fingers grew, each ending with a long, darkened talon. He looked upon his hand with adoration, his claws glistening in the lights above his head. He sneered.

"I shall enjoy your screams, Sakura-chan."


	2. Chapter 2: Happy Birthday

Well, after much procrastination and finally finishing the planning for this fic, I'm starting chapter two. I'm thankful for the reviews I've had so far. You have no idea how much they mean to me, seriously. This chapter is for you guys, but I'm sorry to say I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I've changed it over and over and this was the best I got, but I've revised it, so this for truly is the best I've got. (Revisions are always under par for me, sorry.) Tell me what you think.

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Chapter 2: Happy Birthday

_Eyes blinked slowly as her senses returned, sleep slowly fading from her system as she rubbed her eyes. Blinking once more, she reached out, groping blindly for her alarm clock only to feel dirt slip through her fingers. Looking around her, she found herself on the dirt path in the middle of a forest. The last memory she had was falling asleep, so how had she ended up here?_

_Looking around, she studied the landscape. Grassy fields and trees stretched for miles on either side of her as the sun shone an angry glare. Sakura sat up, arm raised to shield her eyes as she struggled to her feet. Strangely, she felt tired, even after having just woken up from her sleep. _

_Suddenly, a prickling sensation made itself known. It felt like something had zeroed in on the point between her shoulders and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand. She was being watched._

"_Hello?" she shouted with only the wind answering her question. She shivered and felt a twinge of unease in the pit of her stomach. It was still there, still watching her, but why and __**what?**_

_Her feet began to carry her forward, bringing her somewhere, but where? She had no idea where she was going. She didn't even know where she was, but her legs continued to move, continued carrying her somewhere. Curiosity prodded her from the back of her mind. She wanted to know what she was leaving, but something told her not to look back, to keep going and to just look ahead, but she wanted to know. She needed to know and when she looked back, she regretted her decision immediately._

_Black. Miles and miles of pitch-black darkness. It clouded her senses and filled her lungs. It was hard to breathe and she was soon gasping for breath. Her eyes darted to the ground and watched in horror as the ground she treaded upon became swallowed by the darkness._

'_Come on!' she commanded herself, pushing her legs to move faster. She could feel something on her; something was breathing down her neck and her heart leapt into her throat. _

_It was then that she felt something latch around her ankle. She cried out in pain before falling to the ground. She looked down at her ankle, wincing at the burn marring her skin. It felt like someone had poured molten lead onto her skin. _

_A glimmer caught her eye and she looked up to see the darkness morph, eyes and a cruel smile forming before her green eyes. Below the face, a figure appeared with raven hair and porcelain features that enchanted her. He was beautiful. _

_The man wore a white shirt and black pants and looked at her from beneath heavy lids, as if watching her from a dream. She reached her arm out to him and he slowly reached back. When they were almost touching, he slowly closed his eyes, fingers brushing against hers. Suddenly, obsidian turned garnet and the cherished innocent she believed him to be became hellish. He was a demon._

_A sinister sneer crossed his face as he looked upon her, bloodlust clear in his eyes. The fear she felt threatened to overwhelm her, suffocating her from within._

_**Maddening.**_

_She attempted to pull her arm away, stand, save herself—anything, but she was paralyzed. And then…she felt it. Pain. Searing, agonizing pain assailed her mind as his fingers grabbed her wrist, gently winding his fingers around her. His touch burned her and she struggled to remove him from her._

"_Your efforts are in vain," he said, voice mocking, but soothing to her ears. She stared at him with wide eyes, unable to speak or scream and felt her breath hitch as he leaned towards her, his breath hot against her skin and her sharp inhale resounded in her ear as he licked the long column of her neck. He smirked against her skin._

"_You're mine."_

_And then she felt pain, his words playing in her ear as she saw his cruel smile from behind closed lids and the lingering scent of something wreathe around her, and then…nothing._

* * *

Sakura woke up with a gasp, throwing her covers off her legs as she sat up and looked around wildly, the adrenaline still coursing through her system as the nightmare slowly ebbed from her mind. A wave of cold washed over her and she turned to the light streaming through the white curtains over her open window. Sweat drenched her clothing; her heart was thumping madly against her chest. Gasping for breath, she tried to calm herself. Her hand reached up to feel her heartbeat.

"Dream…it was just a dream..." But it didn't seem like a dream. She could still feel his breath on her.

"Like he's still here…" she said softly to herself, lost in her thoughts. Just what was that dream? She'd never had anything like it. So dark, so…_frightening_.

She quelled the shudder that tried to run down her spine when she remembered something else that had been plaguing her mind. Who was that man? Sakura touched where her shoulder and neck joined. This is where he bit her, but as she stared into the mirror across from her bed, she saw there was no mark, yet she could feel a lingering tenderness.

"Maybe I slept weird again," she told herself.

"_You're mine."_

And she couldn't help the shudder that ran down her spine that time. Those words weren't horrible by themselves, but the way he said them with such venom in his voice made it feel like acid on her skin. She heard a knocking at her door.

"Hey forehead! Answer your door!"

"Sakura, I don't think you want Ino to break down your door!"

Sakura ran to her window and looked down. Why were they there? "Hold on, I'm coming."

She ran down the stairs to her front door and yanked it open to see three women standing on her porch. One had blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, bangs hanging over her right eye. Her eyes were sapphire and were complimented nicely by her white pants and white blazer covering her baby-blue T-shirt. The one to her right had brown hair put into two buns at the top of her head with brown eyes. She wore a white zip-up hoodie over a green shirt and jeans and to her far left was a woman with long dark blue hair and pale eyes, a purple tint to them. She wore a yellow cardigan with a pink shirt underneath and a white skirt.

"Hey Tenten, Hinata-chan," she greeted pleasantly before turning to the third girl with a smile. "Hey pig."

"What'd you call me?!" the blonde woman fumed. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Whatever; why are you guys here?" she asked only to feel Tenten knocking on her skull. Didn't possible brain damage mean anything to her?

"It's your birthday today, or did you forget?"

"Oh. I just haven't looked at my calendar recently," she lied. She couldn't tell them that she_ had_ forgotten today was her birthday. Ino would have a fit and drag her into the street just to yell at her and she was not about to face public humiliation in her pajamas.

"You going to let us in or what?"

"Make yourselves comfortable while I go upstairs and change."

"And go shower. You stink."

Sakura rolled her eyes. Leave it to Ino to make a person feel special on their birthday.

"Yes mother," she said sarcastically, snickering to herself as Ino fumed at the idea of being called old before slipping upstairs. After a quick shower and changing into some clothes, she headed downstairs, only to hear snickering coming from her living room.

'_Huh?'_

Climbing down the rest of the steps, she padded into the living room and nearly went into cardiac arrest.

"Surprise!" Ino and Tenten shouted in their party hats as Hinata let out a small toot with her party favor.

Sakura looked around the room. Balloons filled her normally cream-colored ceiling in an array of powder pinks and pale greens. Streamers were strewn across the walls and the words 'Happy Birthday' were taped to the back wall behind them.

"Something wrong, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura turned to the pale-eyed girl, tears in her eye. "No. I love it. You guys are the best," she said giving Hinata a hug, Ino and Tenten joining in with a collective 'Aw.' Sakura wasn't usually one for touchy-feely moments, but she couldn't help it. They were throwing her a surprise party. Her friends were so sweet.

They soon untangled their arms from each other since they were choking Hinata and plopped themselves onto the couch as Ino went into the kitchen.

"So, how are things?" she asked.

Tenten sighed. "Boring as usual. Lee tried to set me up with someone again. You know Temari's brother?"

"Gaara-san?" Hinata asked quietly. Tenten shook her head. "No, not the red-head. The other guy. The one who wears that hat on his head that sorta looks like a paper bag."

"Kankuro?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, that guy. Anyway, failed miserably. As soon as he got to the restaurant, all he would talk about were puppets," she said cringing. "And before Kankuro was Deidara. He was okay. Very cute with the long blonde hair and _those eyes!_ But then _that _happened."

"That?" asked Hinata curiously.

"She found out he was gay…or rather, he was bisexual before and turned completely gay in the middle of the relationship."

"He was so cute too!" pouted Tenten. "But whatever. We're still friends. I just hope Lee isn't trying to set me up with anyone again."

"Better you than me," Sakura said, flinching as a memory of his last proclamation of love appeared before her mind's eye. Now, Rock Lee wasn't a bad guy. In fact, he was really kind and sweet, but he was…overzealous—yes, that was a good word for him. He'd get large bouquets of roses and teddy bears for her everyday and set challenges for himself when she refused to accept his gifts. It was endearing that he'd run 500 laps around the school for her, but seriously!

'**Plus, there's his bushy eyebrows, weird eyes, and obsession with green spandex and Gai-sensei, his idol and chemistry professor.'**

'_But he is cute in a dorky kind of way,'_ she defended. Who was she talking to exactly? Sakura didn't actually know, but she had a sneaking suspicion it's a manifestation of how she really perceived people…that or she was crazy.

"I'm back!"

And the girls all look up to see Ino with…

"Ino, what the hell is that?" she asked pointing to the large bottles of clear liquid, each with a red bow attached at the neck. Ino simply grinned larger. "It's sake! You're of legal age now, so it's time to introduce you to the world of liquor!"

"So you brought three bottles of sake?" Tenten asked incredulously and Ino nodded like it was nothing. Then again, they'd all seen how Ino drank and this wasn't much for the girl.

Tenten sighed. "Okay, lay it on me," she said holding a small saucer up. Ino smiled and filled the other two saucers, leaving Hinata's empty since the girl asked for just water. Raising her glass, Ino turned to smile at Sakura and raised her glass.

"Drink up, forehead. We're going to party tonight!"

And seeing how it was only 9:32 in the morning on a Saturday, Sakura knew it was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Bye guys!"

"Bye…hic…Saklura," Ino slurred, Hinata nodding beside her with a slight blush on her face and Tenten lightly snoring against the far left pillar of her porch.

"Can you get them home alright, Hinata?"

"N-no problem," she said before opening her mouth up for a yawn and leading the girls away. Now Sakura felt bad. When Ino had told her to drink the sake, Sakura switched her cup with Hinata's and drank her water while she drank Sakura's sake and now she was walking each of the girls home at 11:45 at night.

Watching them go, she sighed guiltily as she dropped her hand to her side, shut the door, and headed to the living room.

To say it was messy was an understatement. Empty sake bottles and empty pizza boxes and ice cream cartons littered the coffee table and the area around it. Balloons were stuck to her ceiling and the taped-up words and streamers littered the carpet after Ino thought it would be fun to dance on the table like a mad woman. God, she hoped her neighbors didn't hate her after today.

Cleaning up as best she could (she'd get the balloons down tomorrow), she walked up to her room for another shower and a change of clothes before looking around.

Sakura's room wasn't that big of a deal in her opinion. A bed, a dresser, a mirror, a window and a window seat, a desk, a chair, a nightstand, and her closet were all that were inside…and her book collection—but she only had 40 books…in her room. The rest were strewn around her house, but she only had forty in her room, she swore it! And no, she didn't have a problem. She just liked to read.

"Dickens, Hemingway, Cisneros," she sang as she spun around her room, naming a few authors she had there. Though most of what she had in this room were considered American classics, she had others as well like The Tale of Genji.

As she spun around, the room blurring into a sea of color, something caught her eye. On her desk was the book she got from Hitomi a few days ago. It was a leather bound book about the length of her forearm. When she first saw it, she couldn't believe how much dust was on it. With a thought on how old it was, she thought it would be wrecked, but now that she looked at it, it seemed to be in pretty good condition. It wasn't like it was new or anything, but it was still pretty good.

Leaning over to prop her elbows on the back of the chair, she had to wonder why she gotten this book. Like Hitomi said, it wasn't like the other books she'd normally get. She had never understood the point of fantasy. People fighting dragons and talking to fairies never appealed to her—and yet, she got this book, a book that talked about angels and demons and the creators of the universe. She'd never gotten this type of book before, but something nagged at her to get it. This feeling that she had to have it—like the book was calling to her. Sakura laughed out loud.

"Yeah right, like I was destined to have this book. You really are falling off your rocker, Haruno." But something inside Sakura kept nagging at her like it was saying otherwise and as if under a spell, she scooped up the book. Distantly, she heard the chiming of the clock and realized it was midnight.

_One..._

_Two…_

Her right hand was moving towards the book, the gold leaf cross on the cover gleaming in the moonlight.

_Three…_

_Four…_

The wind blew at her window; the sound of the pages turning reminded her of how she didn't remember opening her window.

_Five…_

_Six…_

A shadow seemed to flicker over the moon, her fingers crept closer still.

_Seven…_

_Eight…_

The fingers of her left hand shifted under the book's weight, the strong smell of leather and aged paper tickled her nose.

_Nine…_

_Ten…_

Her hand was closer now and warmth was pulsing against her palm, as if the book had a heart, a life of its own.

_Eleven…_

_Twelve._

"_Ahhhhhhh!"_

A piercing scream tore through the air. Her scream. Why was she screaming? Why did it hurt so much? She felt like she was on fire, like someone had drained her blood and replaced it with molten lead. Her fingers were twitching uncontrollably over the cover of the book in her hand, gold patterns and gems creeping and skittering across the leather like ivy. Her head tipped back and her eyes rolled back into her head. Blood was trickling down her body and she heard something behind her tear, sending searing pain through her system from her back. Something blocked out the light, leaving a cool shadow on her face and…she saw people, but they were fuzzy and their voices muffled, like she was seeing them through a fog.

"_Stop. What are you—?" _

It was a feminine voice. She sounded distraught. Who was she talking to? What were they doing?

"_No, no, not my husband! Kuga! No! No!!! Oh god, no..."_

Kuga. This person, was he hurt? Was he dead? Suddenly, the visions were clear. A woman was kneeling over a man. Both wore white robes that were slowly staining crimson from the man's body as color slowly drained from his face. He gasped for air, the sound grating painfully on her ears. _He was dying._

She could make out the barest of colors. It was dark, a small window above her lighting the room. Kuga was tall with medium-length brown hair and ice blue eyes. His throat was slit, blood still dripping from his neck and the stab wound in his stomach; his eyes began to glaze. His wife held his hand, sobs racking her body, but Sakura couldn't see what she looked like. The woman was in shadow.

"_Kuga, no…don't leave me. Please don't leave me. We still have our baby to think about. Remember how excited you were about the baby? Come on, you can't leave me! The baby needs you! _I_ need you!"_

_Kuga turned, tears falling form the corners of his eyes as blood trickled from his mouth and his chest rose and fell rapidly with each breath he took in vain. His mouth moved, forming a sad smile. He knew…he knew he wouldn't make it. She seemed to know too._

"_No, Kuga, no!!!"_

_And with his body failing him, he gazed upon her sadly, regret burrowing further into his body as she wept. He was going to leave her and he hated it, and no matter what he told her, it would hurt._

_With his last ounce of strength, he willed himself to hang on, just for a bit longer, for her. His hand moved closer to her face, brushing against her cheek and wiping a tear from her face. She looked up in surprise. "Kuga?"_

"_S-s-s—"_

_But it was no use. His vocal cords had been severed and blood was bubbling over his lips. It wasn't fair. He wanted to tell her so many things. That he wished he could see their baby. That he would regret never being able to see their child grow up. That she was the only person to make him feel the way he did. That the day she became Matsui Keiko was the happiest day of his life and that he loved her. He had so much to say. He could only hope that 'sorry' was enough._

"_Sorry for what? What, Kuga? Kuga?!"_

_And as blood soaked his clothing and stained the white wings under him, he exhaled and became still. He was dead._

"_Kuga! Kuga, no!" Keiko sobbed as she held his hand and watched as his body began to disappear, fading into small twinkles of blue light. She reached for them, watching with horror as they slipped past her fingers._

"_Kuga! No! Stop! Stop. Don't leave me…" she sobbed as more of his body faded. His legs, his head, his torso—even his arms had started to fade. _

"_No, don't leave me like this, Kuga," Keiko whispered against the hand she pressed to her cheek, but his hand disappeared from her hand and she felt a warmth brush against her cheek before the last twinkle slipped away as well._

"_No…" Keiko whispered, face falling into her hands before something flashed in the light and soon, more blood painted the white marble floor and darkness enveloped the scene._

It was the last thing Sakura saw before the darkness enveloped her as well.


	3. Ch 3: Visit from a Midnight Stranger

Well, went to my happy place and found the hatred I needed to write this chapter. I hope I nailed the emotion. It's all I'm good at, anyway. (Sorry the chapters are so short. They get longer as the story progresses, I promise.)

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Ch.3: Visit from a Midnight Stranger

Beryl green eyes slowly appeared through lowered lashes. She fluttered her eyelids, slowly regaining consciousness as she lay on the rug on her bedroom floor. Her muscles ached and her breathing was labored, her throat raw from screaming.

She sat up slowly, small moans of pain escaping her lips as she pushed her body up. She looked up at the clock. It was two in the morning? It said twelve earlier, so what had happened in those two hours? Did she fall asleep on the floor?

Brushing her hair from her face, she felt her elbow brush against something and looked behind her to see white feathers caught in the moonlight.

She reached forward, fingers hesitantly wrapping around the feathers and tugged them, blinking when she felt her shoulder turn with the pull. Looking behind her, her eyes widened in horror. Those feathers were wings and what was more, they were hers.

'_Okay, Sakura. Calm down. This has to be a prank. Something Ino thought up when she found out you weren't drunk. Yeah, that's it. That explains every—'_

The sound of glass shattering interrupted her thoughts, watching as the shards gleamed in the moonlight. Something…something was in the room with her. It was in shadow, but she could see one thing.

Red eyes.

"Ah-h-h-h!" Sakura screamed, holding her hand in front of her as she shut her eyes. A brief warmth touched her skin and she heard something get hit and something thick splatter the floor before hands grabbed her arms. She struggled, arms trying to escape an iron grip as she felt a hot gaze on her skin and let out a cry of pain as she was slammed against the wall. Whatever was grabbing her was saying something to her, but she was too disorientated to understand it. Why was the room spinning?

Hands gripped her wrists painfully as another sentence was uttered. Tears began stinging her eyes and she felt her heart throb in her chest like a bomb about to go off. She was going to die, wasn't she? She was probably going to die like this. Her friends flashed before her eyes.

'_Hinata, I'm sorry for making you take them home. I hope you got home safe. I don't deserve a friend like you. Tenten, I hope you find someone. Ino…what do I say about you? You were stuck-up, brash, rude, and the best friend a girl could ever ask for. How are you going to react when you find out I'm gone? Will you be sad or will you be happy now that forehead girl is gone and you don't have to worry about me anymore?'_

And then she remembered something. It was a memory of the two of them in a field. They were five and they were making some stupid promise to each as they were picking flowers.

"_Hey Sakura-chan."_

"_Yes, Ino-chan?" Sakura asked, chin-length hair billowing in the breeze, her friend's short blonde hair doing the same._

"_What do you want to be when you grow up?"_

"_I want to be a mommy!" she smiled and Ino smiled too. "Yeah, me too. Hey, how about when we get older, we go to each other's weddings?"_

"_Sure."_

It was such a stupid promise. It was so trivial, so why was she remembering it now? But…she swore that they see each other's weddings. They swore on their friendship. She swore on their friendship, which was the most sacred vow she ever made.

An eerie glow enveloped Sakura. Her body trembled against the wall, eyes screwed shut and fists balled tight. "Damn it, Ino. You'll probably kill me if I don't show up," she said through gritted teeth, a short laugh escaping despite herself. Snapping her head up, she pressed her legs against the wall, pushing herself off to tackle her assailant to the ground, gasping as they wrapped their fingers around her throat. She reached up, trying to desperately pry their fingers off. Panic had already rung the alarm bells in her head long before, but now the fear was beginning to set in. It was what made it real. Fear was what made dying real.

"N…"

They rolled on top of her, pinning her down as they wrapped their fingers tighter, their teeth flashing in the moonlight, and briefly she wondered what would happen to her if those gleaming canines sank into her flesh. Just then, a sensation akin to sharp needles boring into her skin awakened her to the sensation of pain and she remembered where she was.

"N…no!"

A ball of light escaped Sakura's hand, hitting her attacker in the shoulder. They let go with a hiss and a steady stream of curses, shoulder singed and slightly disorientated. This was the only chance she had. If they regained their bearings, she was done for.

Leaping up, she used her weight to push them down as she gripped their throat with her left hand and they fell. Grunts left both their mouths as the wind was knocked from their bodies, but Sakura kept a tight hold, straddling their stomach to keep them from moving; another ball of blue light was glowing steadily in her poised hand. She could hear her blood coursing through her veins and knew her swallowing was audible.

"Do it!" they demanded. Her eyes focused on their face. Even though it was dark, she could make out their features and she peered down at her attacker.

Spiked raven hair; that was the first thing she noticed. Second was the structure of his face, his features fine and smooth as if sculpted in the image of a noble. Dark marks marred his pale skin and she realized he couldn't have been older than she was. Dragging her gaze to look behind him, she saw black wings. And then, she saw them. His red eyes.

'_He's the guy from my dream. What is he doing here?'_

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Do all angels ask that of someone before they kill them?" he said with a hollow chuckle as he faintly smiled at her sadly. His breathing was labored and the smell of blood and seared flesh made her wrinkle her nose.

"An angel? Is that what I am?"

He rolled his eyes. "No shit, girlie. Take a look at yourself."

And she looked at herself. When had she changed out of her pajamas into a white robe? Was this why her hand was glowing and why she had wings? Because she was an angel?

A growl below her brought her back to her senses as his hands balled at his sides. "What are you waiting for? Do it. Go ahead and kill me so you can go brag to your stupid friends. You're no better than them. You're no better than _him_! This is why I hate you stupid mortals. You have no idea how easy you have it! All you know is how to take and destroy! All you know is hatred towards each other and how to cause pain. I hope you all die!"

His eyes were wild and he looked at her with seething hatred, daring her to kill him, to prove to him that he was right in his assumptions. Watching her bite her lip and pull her arm back even further, he closed his eyes and waited for his death when he felt her slide off him. She was still there. He could sense her presence, and he opened his eyes to see that she was beside him, wings gone and looking at him.

"Do you…need any help?" she asked, her hand glowing. He hissed.

"Don't touch me. You do and I'll have to kill you," he told her, eyes constantly flitting to her glowing hand. She hadn't even realized her hand was glowing. What was wrong with her? Was this a dream? She reached forward with her left hand to see the cut on his face and he batted it away and she looked at her hand, throbbing and slightly red from the light slap he gave it. The pain felt real enough.

"Do you need a first-aid kit? I have one in my bathroom if you want it."

When he didn't answer, she went to her bathroom regardless. The man looked around confusedly. What had just happened? He was alive? That angel had…spared him? Angels never spared demons, just as demons never spared angels. It was in their blood. The war from centuries past still flowed through their veins, but this girl…it was like she knew nothing of it.

"I'm back."

He leapt slightly. He hadn't sensed her arrival. How could he have let down his guard? She could've killed him right there and he wouldn't have known what happened to him until it was too late. Luckily, she seemed unaware of the momentary lapse.

"Could you go on the bed, please?" Sakura asked and watched as he stared at her, gaze measuring her carefully before slowly moving onto the bed. Once there, she watched his wings fade, disappearing into thin wisps of smoke. The black marks that had covered his body began receding to an area on his shoulder and she watched in amazement as they slinked over his skin, disappearing into a mark surrounded by kanji, before going over to him.

Sitting on the bed, she began taking out a pair of tweezers, rubbing alcohol, and some cotton balls. Dipping the cotton balls into the alcohol, she began to tentatively sterilize his wounds, watching for any hint of discomfort on his face, but it remained stoic as if he didn't even know she was treating his wounds.

'_He's quiet,'_ she thought to herself as she dabbed a small cut on his shoulder.

"Can you tell me your name?" she asked quietly in an attempt to make conversation. The room had gotten too quiet for her taste and she had never really liked the idea of complete silence, no matter how tranquil it was. The man remained silent and Sakura picked up on the hint, quickly dropping the subject. She wouldn't talk anymore.

In an effort to keep her mind off the silence, she began looking at him. Maybe it was because despite trying to kill her, he was still gorgeous, or maybe it was because she wanted to look at anything beside the broken glass and blood stains on her carpet, but she did it anyway, and in scanning him over, she realized the extent of the damage.

He had third-degree burns on his shoulder and his side, the skin shiny and raw in some areas while others were a smoldering black. Deep gashes wept blood on his shoulders and chest, the glass fragments shining like diamonds at her, and she noticed he had several smaller cuts up and down his body. Something faintly shined at her in the light and peering closer, she realized they were scars. They covered his back and hands as well, but one caught her eye in particular, a long thin scar that went across his shoulder blades, spanning from his right shoulder to the bottom of his rib cage on his left side. She reached out to touch it.

"I'll do it."

"Huh?" she asked softly, startled from her trance to see him already rooting through her first-aid kit for bandages. Watching as he quickly bandaged his hands and his torso, she slipped off the bed.

"Well, it looks like you have things covered," she said with an embarrassed smile, feeling stupid for gawking at a scar. "You're welcome to take my bed and stay the night or until you feel better. I'll just take the couch."

And as she walked towards the doorway, she thought she heard something. Turning to look over her shoulder, she watched him pick up the gauze roll and started to bandage himself again, the cotton between his teeth as he tightened the gauze. Turning away, she began the walk towards the couch downstairs and stopped outside the doorway, a smile playing on her lips as she remembered the words he had said as if a whisper on the wind.

"_Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke."_


	4. Chapter 4: A Reversal of Things

I'm back! I know, this hasn't been updated in a while, but between keeping my grades afloat and my Kakasaku plot bunny maulings, I've only just come up to breathe. Before my semester break ends, I'd like to get one chapter of a hiatus fic out before it shrinks back into obscurity. If you still have faith in me, leave a review. If you don't, I'll understand.

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Ch.4: A Reversal of Things

Small dots of yellow dotted the dark night sky as a breeze blew through raven locks; a sigh was heard on the wind.

It was a Tuesday and Sasuke stared out over the night scenery as he pondered the events of the last few days. It had been at least two weeks since the mortal named Sakura had taken him in and helped him recuperate. In those two weeks, his physical wounds had all healed, but he was weak now from having used his energy to force his injuries to heal quicker. Normally, those types of injuries—though severe—would give him little trouble, but when he got hit by that she-devil, her angel powers had taken more out of him than he had originally thought. He knew that while injured, he was a sitting duck, but if he expended his energy to heal his wounds, he wouldn't have enough chakra to defend himself. Still, if he healed his wounds, he could at least appear like he was capable of defending attacks from the angel (though he doubted she would attack him seeing how she seemed to trust him so completely; though the same couldn't be said of him).

Hoping she wouldn't call him on his bluff, he channeled his chakra to his injuries. While it wasn't enough to heal the wounds completely, it was enough to repair the missing bone fragments and grow back the muscle that had been lost in his shoulder. The rest of his injuries would have to heal with time. And so here he was, trapped in the mortal realm until his strength returned and his mission objective was complete. His mouth drew into a grim line.

'_This is ridiculous. All I have to do is get a damn book and just when I get the perfect opportunity to take it, she comes in and meddles with my affairs. Stupid wench, why must she carry that book with her all the time? It's not like she knows what it can do. Honestly, even I don't know what that book is for, but that's why he trusted me with the job. He knows I don't question him; not when I owe him so much.'_

He sighed, feeling the cold air rush to meet his face. A faint smile graced his lips as his mind wandered back to the question the girl raised just yesterday.

_Flashback_

"_What's hell like?"_

"_What?" Sasuke asked, looking up from the copy of __The Tale of Genji__ resting in his hands. She set her tea tray on the study and rested her hand on the wooden surface._

"_What's hell like? Is it really what people say it is? Fire? Brimstone? Small little demons poking and prodding you as you roast—that sort of stuff?"_

_Sasuke smirked to himself at how excited she was, but at something else as well. "Well, you humans aren't too far off," he said shelving the book back into its proper place, "it absolutely has fire and demons, but we aren't small and we don't prod souls along with pitchforks."_

"_Then what is hell like then?"_

_And Sasuke suddenly smiled to himself. "Hell isn't as bad people think. All the land formations are made from rocks. We have trees down there, but they aren't like the ones here. They're black, have no leaves, and the wood is gnarled, but it's sturdy and strong enough to build shelters with since it doesn't catch on fire easily. What we don't make from wood, we make with metal. Many of the demons in Hell are metal workers and the souls that are sent to Hell go into a transformation and eventually become low-ranked metal working demons as well. _

"_Our rankings are determined by class and our power. There are a possible ten rankings. The iron-workers are 3 to 4, the minions are 1 to 2, the grunt workers—demons in charge of the transformation process and other menial tasks—are given to the ranks 4 and below with level 5 demons in charge of them. The infantry are levels 5 and 6 with levels 7 through 8 as their watchers. In order to keep their power, they are given a curse mark and must swear their loyalty to our ruler. Any form of insubordination will cause the curse mark to activate and will instantly be killed without mercy." His fingers rose to the shirt Sakura gave him and tugged away the collar to reveal a small black mark. A circle with three tomoe inscribed in Kanji could be seen; Sasuke placed his fingers over it. "This is my curse mark as a rank-8 demon. Even if this mark is to ensure loyalty to our sire, I wouldn't have needed it placed on me. My king is the only person I will ever serve and ever obey."_

"_Your king is the Devil, right? Shouldn't the mark be redundant if he's the only one in power?" Sakura asked. _

"_We're ruled much like the British monarchy," he answered as he leaned against the wall by the bookshelf, "We have a king and a council of demons. The demons are the highest levels in Hell, more powerful than me, and they rule Hell together. The council is made of the five oldest demons in Hell: three rank-9 demons and two rank-10 demons, along with the leaders of the three demon clans that inhabit our realm. Supposedly, our ruler is to occupy the rank-10, but the two council members are centuries older than all of us and have risen through the ranks with their ages and wisdom. It's also rumored that our current king is more powerful than a rank 10. Many don't believe that, but I've seen what he's done—what he's capable of doing…_

"_Together, they try to determine what the most effective policies to enact are and which regions need more workers. Our form of government is a form of checks-and-balances. The council reminds the king of what laws even he cannot break and the king can dismiss certain propositions from the council as he works to keep our home running smoothly. Unfortunately, it's harder than most people expect."_

"_How?"_

_Sasuke sighed regretfully. "Unfortunately, many of our race get embroiled into civil wars to show dominance among the different types of demons, thus leaving many casualties and not enough workers. Our metal workers get killed in accidents quite frequently and our infantry gets restless with no one to fight but themselves. Many wish to venture into this world and claim what they can, but only three levels have that power and only with a certain pass. Even the council members have to receive the pass from the king in order to cross the worlds. The council members just watch you mortals interact while the king is allowed to cross whenever he pleases, but there are some occasions where lower levels are allowed. In order for that to happen, you must be of the king's personal army and to belong there, you endure things far worse than what you humans believe to happen in Hell."_

"_Like what?" he heard her ask tentatively and smirked at the quaver in her voice before shedding his grey long-sleeved shirt to reveal the pale scars criss-crossing his skin. _

"_You are tortured for two months straight. You do not eat, drink, or sleep. You survive on sheer will alone. Then, your loyalty is tested by means of probing. A needle is inserted into a soft tissue area at random intervals—your tear ducts, for example. The test runs for only an hour, but it feels longer than that. They only stop when the testing is finished or you're dead," he said shrugging on the shirt once more, pulling the opening over his head. "I was one of the youngest entrants to ever get into the personal army."_

"_Sounds painful," she uttered softly and he smirked to himself before straightening the sleeves. "I've had worse," he said with a hint of pride and remorse. Sakura bit her lip before asking her next question._

"_Were you…always a demon?" And she watched his shoulders tense and his posture improve as his spine locked tight beneath his skin. She could tell his jaw was tense by the way he spoke. He sighed agitatedly. _

"_No…, but I'd rather not talk about it."_

_End flashback_

And the conversation had ended. What he had told her wasn't a lie, but it wasn't all the truth. What Hell was and how it worked could not be covered in one afternoon's conversation. So many things factored into how you got your rank and what form you would take. Many of the iron workers were humans that had once been honorable, but were mixed in with the wrong crowd. The minions were petty thieves and prostitutes, and almost all of their infantry had belonged in an army in a past life. Their forms were predetermined by the person's personality and lifestyle, but those were the standard ranks. Those of ranks 7 and higher were a different story…

Sasuke was a rank-8 demon. Upon entering Hell, he had been a mortal, the shinobi son of the leader of the Uchiha clan and his wife. Their clan had been famous throughout the land for their kekkei genkai, the Sharingan. The Hyuuga clan also had a kekkei genkai, but the one that belonged to the Uchiha clan had the ability to copy the techniques of their opponent, but required much of the user's energy to fuel it. Needless to say, his clan was full of strong men and women, but out of all of them, there was one recognized as the most powerful of them all: Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's brother and the murderer of the Uchiha clan.

Sasuke could still remember the night it happened. He had been roughly eight or nine at the time and was coming home late after training at the Ninja Academy in their village. When he got to the Uchiha compound, he noticed an eerie quiet hung around the buildings and the wind carried the scent of blood. A window shutter banged repeatedly on a house front and he shook his head and ran into the quiet compound, telling himself that everyone had just gone to sleep early that night and had convinced himself of that until he saw the body of his uncle and aunt.

After that, things became blurred. He raced through the compound to his parent's house for safety, but once he got there, he recognized the same heavy silence and the smell of spilled blood. He went to his parent's bedroom, but as soon as he walked in, he saw the fallen bodies of his mother and father and the gleam of a sword in the night. It was Itachi.

_Flashback_

"_Hello Sasuke."_

"_Itachi…Itachi, what have you done?!" Sasuke shouted as his fingers trembled on the hardwood floors of his parents' bedroom. _

"_I've killed them," his brother answered calmly as he sheathed his sword, as if the act of killing one's parents was a normal day occurrence. The sharp sound of the metal sliding back into the sheath made Sasuke wince and an involuntary whimper left his mouth. He backed away from his brother._

"_Why...why…how could you do this, Itachi?! They were our parents! What did they ever do to you?!"_

"_Don't take it personally, Sasuke. I was merely testing myself. Nothing more, nothing less."_

"_But you were already the strongest one in our clan! Everyone said so already! You were supposed to be the next clan leader! How could you do this?!" And suddenly, Itachi chuckled and the sound caught Sasuke off-guard. How could he laugh at a time like this?_

"_Foolish little brother, you have no idea what real strength is. You probably never will. All you will know is fear and weakness. I almost pity you."_

_Footsteps echoed in the room and Sasuke felt his heart leap into his throat with every step his brother took towards him. His feet tried to push him away from the approaching figure, but his sock-covered feet slipped on the floor, unable to hold the ground as Itachi advanced towards him. "P-p-please! Please, don't kill me! Don't kill me!"_

_Itachi shook his head with a smile. "I'm not going to kill you. You're not even worth the time it would take to do so," he said before an amused smile took over his face. "Look at you, so frightened—like a baby animal. You haven't even begun to realize what the real world is like. Mother always did coddle you. Let me show you what I've been doing…"_

_And he stared into orbs of red and black until his world faded into darkness. Memories assailed his mind, images of women and children attempting to flee as their family's police forces tried to protect everyone, of fallen bodies as metal cut deeply into their skin. All their faces were frozen in silent screams, but in his mind, he could hear them, hear their terrified screams and desperate pleads for life as he struck down husbands before wives, mothers before children. Only the taste of vomit brought him back to his senses as he spilled his stomach contents. _

_Sasuke looked up, the taste of stomach acid fresh on his lips as his brother watched him and suddenly he was on auto-pilot, running away from their house as he ran through the streets screaming for help. In the streets void of life, he realized how desolate it was in the compound. Buildings that had seemed tame before now frightened him beyond all reason. A breeze caused him to pause._

"_Foolish little brother." And the limb of a corpse caught his leg. Sasuke sailed into the dirt, the sharp sensations of gravel against his raw skin overshadowed by the voice in his brain telling him to run, but he wouldn't—couldn't when he was staring at his brother as he looked over the bodies he had slaughtered before his eyes focused on him. He was suddenly in the Mangekyou again, but through the repeating images, he managed to hear his brother's words._

"_Foolish brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life."_

_End flashback_

And it would be twelve years before he saw his brother again. He had done just as his brother had told him, hating him, detesting him with his entire being, separating ties with his home at the age of twelve to study under the snake sannin, Orochimaru. He learned to gain power, learned hate without remorse, schooled himself to feel nothing but loathing for his ultimate goal…but it wasn't enough. Itachi had mortally wounded him only five minutes into the battle, a gash across his spine. He only managed the blow to his brother's windpipe through sheer will and stupid luck. The two of them both died that night, ending the Uchiha clan with just them.

It was while he was waiting for his assignment in Hell that he realized his life was a waste. He had spent his whole life focused on killing his brother and reviving their clan, only to find out he sold his soul for nothing. He was no closer to the satisfied feeling he thought he would've had avenging the clan than he was to being alive.

He was only three feet away from the front of the assignment line when he began crying, mourning for himself and cursing under his breath at his foolishness. When he finally got to the front, he knew he was destined to be one of the lower ranks a man explained to him in line, only proving how truly weak he was when he was suddenly pulled aside by a light-haired man with a mask over the lower portion of his face.

_Flashback_

"_You. Out of the line."_

"_Me?" Sasuke asked hoarsely as he wiped the tears from his eyes to look at the man standing by the assignment desk. He couldn't be more than thirty. The desk clerk was looking at him as well._

"_Yes, you. Now get out of the line," the man ordered, watching as Sasuke left his place in the ever-growing line. The man plucked Sasuke's folder from the desk clerk's hand. "I'll be taking this as well. You won't mind, right?"_

"_No, sir," the clerk said hastily and the man smiled before walking over to Sasuke and past him. He stopped on the crest of a barren hill and Sasuke took it as a sign to follow. He ran after him._

"_Hey!"_

_Soon, they were walking side by side. Sasuke fidgeted awkwardly by the man, unsure whether to trust him or not as he strolled carelessly across the empty fields. Letting his gaze stray to the side, he looked at the stranger. He was tall, about six feet in height with pale skin and a suit of black armor with gold detailing. A red and black cape, its hem frayed and tattered, hung around his neck and a sword hung at his hip, completely different from the plain black pants and white dress shirt he saw earlier. An eye-patch could be seen through his strands of silver and idly, Sasuke wondered if he was blind in that eye._

"_Who—"_

"_Uchiha Sasuke, male, 20, turning 21 in three days, no next of kin and brother of Uchiha Itachi, right?"_

"_Yes," he answered hurriedly as the man snapped the manila folder shut in his hand. They were suddenly moving once more and he could feel the faint brushing of dry grass around his ankles. He struggled to keep up. "Who are you?" _

_The man smiled. "This seems like a good place to stop," he replied, not even bothering to pretend like he was paying attention to the question. Sasuke scowled and folded his arms over his chest before looking around at the landscape. It was much different from the other parts of Hell he saw before. Unlike the dry patch of dirt he landed in when he first arrived or the vast plains of red earth where the assignment line was, the area where he now stood had gently swaying desert grass. A gnarled tree stood in the area, close to the edge of what he believed to be a cliff and around them were fallen stone blocks similar to Druid ruins. The stranger sat down on one and let out a sigh._

"_Nice, isn't it?"_

"_Who are you?" Sasuke asked tersely as he stood with his hands in his pockets. He watched as the stranger's droopy gaze turned to lock with his and in the distance, the iron mills belched fire and smoke into the blood-red sky._

"_Hatake Kakashi, and I…am the Devil," the man finished with a slight flourish of his hand and a small bow. Sasuke scoffed in disgust. "You're not the devil."_

"_Were you expecting horns and a cheesy goatee?" he asked._

"_No," he replied hastily before lowering his bangs to cover his blush. Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Regardless of what you may think, I actually rule this place. Do you have any idea why I pulled you from that line?"_

_Sasuke shook his head._

"_You…are going to get a second chance."_

_Sasuke looked up hopefully. "I get to return to Earth?"_

"_No. You are going to be a rank-8 demon. Granted, it's not going to be easy and you might go insane from the process, but at least you'll be stronger and isn't that all you really care about?"_

"_How did you—"_

"_You're incredibly shallow when it comes to motive," he replied shifting his legs, but his armor made no sound. If it did, it was probably lost on the zephyr that passed over the hilltop. Sasuke trembled where he stood._

"_Why are you doing this?" he asked softly. Kakashi looked up in thought. _

"_Don't know, really. It may be because you have potential, or maybe it's because you remind me a little of myself."_

"_I'll do it."_

"_I'm sorry?"_

"_I'll do it," he repeated louder now. When he looked up, Kakashi was turned towards him with no trace of the lazy man he had come to associate him with._

"_You do realize that it will be difficult. You were originally slated to become a rank-4 or 5—a rank-6 at best. By accepting this offer, you will be put through arduous training. You might even die from it."_

"_But you said I get a second chance, right?"_

"…_Yes. You will become a full-fledged demon. Your record will be wiped clean, your old life as a mortal and the desires attributed to being mortal will cease to exist, but the memories you carry will remain."_

"_And my brother?"_

"_You will still remember him and what he has done to you as well, but this offer will not be extended to him. He shall remain as a human soul, sentenced to be tortured until the end of time."_

"_And what will I do as a rank-8 demon?"_

"_You will be a general in Hell's army. You will watch over the infantry and destroy anything and anyone when I give the signal. As a rank-8 demon, you are to swear loyalty to me and are given a curse mark. If you defy my orders, it will instantly kill you, but don't expect it to be painless. You'll feel everything before I let you die. Any other questions?"_

"_If I don't want to be a general, what are my other choices?"_

"_You may go into the torture department, work with people like your brother and spend an eternity torturing them, or you can be in my personal army. Your job is to protect me and do the missions I assign to you. If you do choose to be in my personal army, I won't make it easy on you. The entrance test is designed to pick the best of the best. It will push you to your limits and further, but if you do choose it and succeed, I will make it worth your while."_

"_How?"_

"_On the off-chance you do succeed, you'll become my right-hand man…but that's only if you do succeed. If you don't pass the test, chances are that you're dead or have gone insane." Kakashi looked over his shoulder. "Still up for it?"_

_Silence stretched across the field and Sasuke closed his eyes as a breeze blew across his face. The breeze was unusually cold, even though Hell's temperatures were actually quite moderate, and it carried the sweet smell of burning flesh. When he opened his eyes, he realized the smell was from a crematorium in the valley below the cliff. Sasuke turned to Kakashi._

"_Yes."_

_And to his surprise, Kakashi did not question his answer. Instead he placed a hand on his shoulder and a fatherly smile crossed his masked lips. "Good." And that was the last word Sasuke heard before he was pushed into the dirt. Soil rose from the ground and Sasuke spat out the offending taste before turning over onto his back only to see Kakashi unsheathe his sword and plunge it into his heart._

_Blue light spidered across his skin, the brightness forcing him to close his eyes as he felt it crawl across his body. Suddenly, the light changed temperature and a searing pain forced his eyes open to see the light had dyed red. His blood boiled within his veins and his lungs constricted at the sheer agony. Breathing became torture and his eyes rolled back in head as his body began to seize against the sword. Distantly, he heard the faint mutterings of words, as if an incantation was being performed. _

_Suddenly, he was thrown into a blinding white light and when the light finally let him go, he opened his eyes to see pale pink clouds against the red sky. In the air, there was the sound of heavy breathing and over the howl of the wind; he heard a sword being pulled from the ground. Idly, he realized that the sword wasn't in him and raised his hand over the clammy skin of his chest, feeling around for a scar that wasn't there. Another breeze and he realized from the chill that he was naked. Something fluttered in the breeze before draping over his skin._

"_That's going to have to do until I get you back to the castle and get you some clothes," he said with a half-smile before helping the boy up. Sasuke noticed he was wearing the white shirt again._

"_I'm…still human," he panted out, knees shaking as he struggled to keep himself up. They buckled under his weight. Arms caught him before he touched the ground._

"_Despite what you might think, you're a full-fledged demon. Think of this form as a default-mode."_

"_Default mode?" he rasped out as he gripped the opening of the cape. Kakashi nodded._

"_Demons over rank-7 can change forms. Their default mode is their mortal form. When they choose to activate their powers, they go into their demon forms, but you've just recently been transformed. You'll need at least three days of fluids and rest before you can even think of doing anything. Try anything now and you'll be throwing up your intestines. It's a wonder you can still talk," he chuckled._

_And that was the last thing he heard Kakashi say before he passed out._

_End flashback_

After that, he was moved into the castle. He spent three days recovering from the transformation, anxiously awaiting training. When the day came, Kakashi led him to a dojo in the middle of the castle. There, Sasuke trained for three years with no mercy from his new guardian, honing his skills before taking a short career in the infantry. After that, he began doing work all throughout the realm for Kakashi and at the young age of 180, he became a member of the personal army and true to his word, Kakashi's right-hand man.

Because of Kakashi, he received a new chance at life. Before, he wondered why Kakashi had not allowed for him to forget his past life completely, but now he understood. Those memories would serve as a constant reminder of who he was and what not to become. They would be the reason he was a rank-8 demon and a member of the personal army, because they helped him keep his humanity.

In order to qualify as a rank-7 or higher, they had to have the potential to be great or else they would be placed in one of the lower ranks. They also had to have a conscience to what they did and would do. Because of this, the higher ranks were smaller than the lower ones and the personal army was even smaller. When he last counted, the inner circle contained ten people while the outer circle amounted to roughly twenty to thirty. A sigh was let loose in the air. Now that he thought about it, he was beginning to miss his home. Despite what the mortals thought, Hell wasn't that bad of a place. The temperatures were moderate, no one starved because no one ate, their leader actually cared for his people, and many of the foolish faults of humanity were not to be seen. There was no good or evil in Hell because they were all the same, but…it wasn't beautiful.

Sasuke sighed once more to himself as he felt the cool caress of the night air. It was nice to feel something other than lukewarm breezes and the hot press of warm stones against his back. On Earth, there was more to the scenery than deep chasms and an eternally red sky. There was green grass, blue skies, the smell of salt air from the oceans, and there were stars! Billions and billions of stars of different colors dotting a sky that stretched as far as the imagination allowed. When he received missions that allowed him to venture into the mortal realm, he would always sleep outside beneath the stars. He remembered doing it as a child with his brother, a time when Itachi was not a murderer and Sasuke was merely a human boy with a loving family. It was one of the reasons he loved star-gazing so much. Besides seeing the infinite possibilities of the heavens, it was a reminder of better days. Footsteps sounded on the rooftop.

"Here you are," Sakura stated as she climbed onto the rooftop in pink pajamas. He looked at her slippered feet out of the corner of his eye as she spoke. "I made dinner."

"Hn. Not hungry."

"You have to eat something. Your strength won't return if you don't."

"My strength will return, regardless. Besides, how do I know that you didn't poison it, angel?"

"Fine, but if you do become hungry, I put it in the refrigerator. All you have to do is microwave it," she said tucking her hair behind her ear as the messy tendrils spilling from her bun wafted in the breeze. He grunted in reply.

They sat in silence for a minute or two with Sasuke admiring the sight of the building lights shimmering in the distance. Sakura smiled. "It's nice, isn't it?"

And though a part of Sasuke wanted to spit out a venomous remark or punch her for interrupting his plan for a quiet evening alone, he smiled and nodded quietly before shifting to lie on his side and his elbow and watching the stars and buildings quietly with his new guest.


	5. Chapter 5: Message

I know. I should be shot for not updating this story, though I doubt many of you don't care anymore due to lack of updates, but for those who do; hi, I am moodiful819 and I have a problem updating. It's not that I don't like Sasusaku (I still love it, miraculously), but I have my other stories which give me more response and therefore earn more attention. There, I said it. You want more chapters, you've just found out the magic key. Maybe it's the positive reinforcement or something else I learned in biology, but I honestly update stories that have given me more reviews. They give me something to go on. What people like and don't like about my story and just the knowledge that people actually enjoy reading my work.

Okay, that has been festering for a while now. That aside, I really would like some more reviews for this story. Anyway, here it goes.

* * *

Chapter 5: Message

"Sakura? Sakura? FOREHEAD GIRL!!! Don't make me come up there!"

And so, Haruno Sakura's blissful night of sleep and pleasant dreams was once again dashed by the vocal stylings of one Yamanaka Ino. Please give a round of applause as Sakura buries her head under a pillow and attempts to shut her out.

"FOREHEAD! If you don't get out here, I swear; I will pull out every dark secret you've ever had since we were five. Don't think I'll do it? Haruno Sakura has a deep, dark fear of—"

The door opened, revealing a very tired and disheveled looking Sakura. Ino blinked in surprise. "Oh, you're here!"

"I said I was coming! You just couldn't hear because of your screeching, pig," Sakura sneered. Ino, picking up on the insult, narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Oh; screeching, am I? If I'm screeching, then what do you do? Crow?" Sakura merely glared back, waves upon waves of murderous aura flowing and crackling between the two girls when a voice called out.

"Guys, don't fight. Remember why we came here, Ino-chan," Hinata pleaded, effectively diffusing the situation as the two calmed down. For some reason, they could never bring themselves to fight long in front of Hinata. It was something that mystified and amazed the two and they would give anything to know her secret.

Sakura sighed and raked a hand through her hair. "So what are you guys doing here?"

"Well, you were gone for a while now. Tsunade's worried," Tenten explained strolling onto the scene from her car, understandable since she was the one who drove the two here.

"Really? Have I been gone that long?"

"Hello forehead. Two weeks?" Ino asked, making a point to knock on her friend's head.

Sakura nodded. That would give grounds for Tsunade to be worried. Besides the woman being one of her professors at college, Tsunade was also the unofficial caretaker of Sakura after she took a liking to her during one of her classes. Though she was treated just like everyone else, it was hard to miss the glowing smile Tsunade had when taking to the pink-haired girl.

"Oi, mortal. Where do you keep the toothpaste? You're out."

"In the closet by the bathroom. Second shelf from the bottom," Sakura replied casually glancing over her shoulder to address the dark-haired man. Said man merely grunted a 'thanks' and quietly went back upstairs.

"Whoa…"

"Oh my," Hinata said blushing.

"FOREHEAD! You never told me you were shacking up with a hottie like that. Where have you been hiding him? Was that why you were gone for so long?" Ino asked slyly, causing a blush to span across Sakura's face. Tenten and Hinata merely waited on the doorstep for answers.

"Ino!" Sakura screeched. "_Nothing_ happened between us."

"Are you sure?" she purred.

"Yes! He just—I just—He just—"

"You what?" Tenten asked.

Sakura looked both ways before waving her hand. "I'll tell you guys inside."

"No can do," Tenten grinned, "you're in danger of being kicked out if you miss one more day of school. And judging by the current time, plus travel time, you have five minutes to get ready."

"Kicked out?!" Sakura screeched. Slamming the door, the sound of pounding footsteps filtered through the wooden barrier before a shout of 'Move Sasuke, I'm late!' sounded, followed by a clatter and another set of stomps and a fierce yell of "Shit!"

* * *

"So tell me about Sasuke," Ino said as their car whizzed by the residential houses of the neighborhood. They were on the way to their college, Konoha University, with Tenten at the helm as she maneuvered through the busy streets. Hinata just sat in the front seat hoping she didn't throw up her breakfast.

"I…I dunno. You wouldn't believe me even if I tried," Sakura said exasperatedly as she tried to soothe her migraine.

"Try me," Ino responded easily as a dazed look crossed her face as she imagined Sasuke. That body, that attitude, those eyes…he was like sex-incarnate. Besides existing, what could be so unbelievable?

"Sasuke's a demon from Hell who tried to kill me and I'm an angel and I almost killed him, so now he's recovering at my house," she said except much, _much_ faster, but miraculously, Ino caught it all. Probably because she talked at that speed when she was excited or found out there was a sale at the mall, which was probably the same thing.

"What did she say?" Tenten asked glancing into the rearview mirror.

"Sasuke's a demon. She's an angel. They both tried to kill each other and he's recovering at her house."

"Sounds like a bad RPG."

"I know, right?"

"See! This is what I meant when I said you wouldn't believe me!"

"I believe you, Sakura," Hinata voiced.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Of course you'd believe her, Hinata. Your family is into the occult stuff."

"Ino, it isn't occult stuff! They're priests and they take care of the shrines. They _bless_ people. Besides, her family is one of the most respected clans in Japan!" Tenten corrected with thinly veiled annoyance. Hinata was her best friend and not even Ino could get away saying that kind of stuff.

"Yeah, but they do those weird exorcisms too. Anyway, I don't believe in that stuff, but what about you, Hinata? You were confined to your family's compound until you begged your father to let you go to school like normal people."

"Well, my father's really protective of me. I mean, I am the heiress of our clan and there's a lot of intensive training involved with that position, but I'm glad my dad let me go to middle school outside the compound. Otherwise, I never would've met any of you," she admitted sheepishly.

"Aww…Hinata, you're so adorable!" cried Ino and Sakura as they reached into the front passenger seat to hug the pale-eyed girl when the car swerved violently to the left.

"Ino! Sakura! Sit down! I can't see!"

* * *

The car rolled to a stop. They were in the student parking lot of Konoha University, a large public college famous for their alumni and their advancing studies in the field of science and technology. To come here was an honor and many of the students found jobs in the first two months after graduation. Unfortunately, it wouldn't do you any good if you weren't there for the actual classes.

"Guys! Hurry up! Tsunade's class is already ending!"

"Well, sorry Tenten, but whose fault was it for getting lost?"

"Well Ino, if you weren't so busy waving that rat's nest you call 'hair' around, I wouldn't have had to miss our exit and find another way to get to school."

Ino turned her nose up and scoffed. "Well, you could've just turned around."

"On the FREEWAY?!" Tenten screeched, the sound echoing through the halls.

"Well, did you have to take so long getting off?"

"Ino-chan, the next exit was miles away."

"Besides pig, even if the exit wasn't so far away, there was a car accident up the road—which you caused by the way."

"I can't help it if people love me," Ino defended haughtily. Yes, she knew she was good-looking, but really, did she have to flaunt it everywhere she went?

"Of all the places to flirt, why a busy freeway?" Tenten moaned as she ran. Today was not her day and to make it worse, Tsunade was not going to be happy with them. She had only seen the woman mad once in her entire life and it was something she did not want to see again.

'_I had nightmares for weeks after that! Oh well, it can't get any worse. I mean, Sakura's gone crazy. My blind date last night went horribly. And we're two hours late to school. After all that, it can't possibly be worse, right?'_

And that's when she opened the door to find Tsunade at the board staring at her with eighty other students. Only then did she realize that class was still in session and that her day was about to get a whole lot worse.

"Tenten, what are you—_bring!_—Oh, looks like class is over. Everyone, don't forget to read chapter 12 tonight and you four, come here. We need to have a chat," said the well-endowed woman beckoning them forward with her finger. The four entered hesitantly, heads bowed down so they wouldn't have to face her glare, and man, could she glare!

"Why were you late?" the blonde woman asked, arms folded under her ample chest as she looked down at them with amber eyes through her glasses.

"Traffic. Guys. Ino," Tenten answered with an exasperated sigh.

Tsunade nodded in understanding. Ino was a distraction in class, so it was no surprise that she would be a distraction on the road. Sending Ino a warning look that caused the girl to tense, she let her gaze stray to her pink-haired student.

"Sakura, welcome back," Tsunade greeted with a pleasant smile, "An illness?"

Sakura shook her head. "Personal issues. Sorry for the trouble. I'll make sure to catch up," she apologized with a bow of her head.

"Don't worry. We all have those days. As for the school work, you can get your notes from Shikamaru. Shikamaru!" she called into the upper levels of the lecture hall. A boy turned his head, his blonde companion looking down as well to see Tsunade beckoning the boy down. He rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. The blonde at his side gave her goodbye and exited the building to miss his mumble of 'troublesome,' as he descended the steps.

Nara Shikamaru was not much to look at. He had dark eyes and black hair that was constantly up in a ponytail. Oh, he was handsome and smart—that was for sure—but all anyone could focus on was his immense laziness. He fell asleep in class, sighed every other moment, muttered 'troublesome' in every conversation, and would probably have back problems from his ever-present slouch.

"Here you go," Shikamaru said with a grunt as he handed Sakura a folder. Opening it, she found detailed notes on the lecture and a few notes of his own, all written in his trademark neat handwriting. Tsunade, peering over Sakura's shoulder, hummed her satisfaction.

"Looks like someone has been paying attention."

Shikamaru merely grunted and headed back up the stairs to the exit.

"So how was it?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Not now, Temari."

* * *

Chimes echoed through the household, heralding the arrival of noon as Sasuke sat on a couch in the living room. A clock ticked aimlessly on the wall and apart from the clock and the sound of his breathing, the house was quiet.

'_Well, isn't this dull?'_ he asked himself as he absorbed the silence. Normally, he'd enjoy such peace, but there was only so much he could take before even he began to fidget.

Putting down the book he was reading, he stretched. A resounding 'pop' echoed through the room and Sasuke sighed contentedly as his stress point was released before heading down the hallway to the kitchen.

The kitchen was nothing excessively special. It was like many of this time period: stove, fridge, sink, trashcan, kitchen countertops, etc. The only special thing was that this place actually had an oven; that and it was very yellow for a Japanese kitchen.

Moving to the fridge, he opened it to find something to soothe his nerves, retrieving a tomato. He didn't know why he liked them. He hated vegetables as a child, but tomatoes were the one exception to that rule (maybe because he later learned that they were actually fruit). The tart taste, the velvety texture—he loved it all, but he loved the rich red they had when ripe.

Sinking his teeth into the red fruit, he meandered to the sink to gaze out the kitchen window. It seemed the elderly woman next door with the cats was staring again. Probably waiting for some indecent behavior to pop up so she could gossip to her friends. He had never talked to her since that damned woman said it was a bad idea to talk to her or anyone else for that matter, but he knew her type; old-fashioned and so set in their ways that anything straying from it was a sin, and a boy living with an unmarried woman? Scandalous!

A pleased smirk crossed his lips, knowing full-well the woman next door was watching him like a hawk before it turned into a scowl. That old bat really thought that stupid bitch Sakura was worth his time? She was an angel and their kinds had been feuding for centuries. And who did she think she was? She had hidden the book again—which was the reason for his current foul mood—and she had the audacity to tell him what to do. He had centuries on her and like he would actually stoop to associating with those idiotic mortals? Honestly, what did she take him for—a child? He wasn't going to flippantly change his mind on his opinion. Mortals were fools, vermin that scurried the face of the earth stealing and destroying while trying to assuage their guilty consciences with pathetic lies of honor and sacrifice. They were a waste and nothing would change his mind about that.

A chill settled over the kitchen. Through the window, he could see the fading swish of the curtain fabric as a cloud drifted in front of the sun, cloaking the room in muted light. The air around him prickled as if it were alive. A presence. Who was it?

**Thunk.**

"Hey! Watch it, teme!" said a blonde boy. He looked about Sasuke's age with gold-colored hair and cerulean eyes, his fangs peeking out from under his boyish grin. Sasuke merely grunted and dislodged the knife from the kitchen wall.

"Hn."

"Kakashi sent me to check up on you. He wanted to know if you found it yet," he said following Sasuke into the next room, an orange fox tail swishing after him. Sasuke sighed.

"Tell him I need a bit more time."

"What? You can't find it?! Are you getting rusty, teme? It's a book. Come—"

"Shut up, Naruto!" he shouted at the boy before turning away, "I'll get it. Just tell Kakashi to wait a bit longer."

His tone was hushed, body tensed as if waging some sort of inner war that even he wasn't probably aware of. Naruto had never seen Sasuke like this. Indecision wasn't something the boy did and he thought of asking what happened, but it was obvious he wanted to be left alone.

Quickly forming a hand seal, Naruto disappeared. A wisp of smoke remained in the stillness of the room and as the clock continued its monotonous song, Sasuke replaced the knife and heavily sighed.


	6. Chapter 6: Happenings

Wow, I haven't touched this story in forever, but I got the inspiration to go for it again. I had to reread the old chapters and I have to say, my writing has changed a lot since I started this. I miss my style from chapter four, but it's not like I can go back. Sigh.

Anyway, thank you for all the reviews thus far. (They are wonderful baskets of love!) I hope those who've tolerated my flighty update schedule will continue to tolerate it.

* * *

Chapter 6: Happenings

It was a cloudy day when Hyuuga Hinata walked down the street that day. She was on her way back from school and she looked up at the sky. It had been sunny this morning and to match the cheery day, she wore a white shirt and long yellow skirt. She had debated wearing her yellow cardigan when she stepped out of the compound that morning, but she was glad now that she had, and with that thought, she rounded the corner to her family's compound when she heard a high-pitched whimper.

'_What's that?'_ she wondered to herself. Looking down the street, she saw a group of boys. They seemed about 8 or 9-yrs-old—probably from the elementary school nearby—and they were huddled around something. Hinata stepped closer to investigate.

"Hah! Take that!" one of the boys shouted, crashing his foot down as his friends hooted and cheered him on, a wide grin on his face when—

"Stop that! Get away from there!" a blue-haired woman cried. One of the younger boys tensed.

"Oh man, white eyes? She's from that freaky family!"

"Let's get out of here!" another boy shouted, running as his friends scattered in different directions. Hinata slowed to a jog and stared after them. A blip of unease rose in her—her family wasn't _that_ strange, were they?—before she dismissed the thought. Now was not the time to be worrying about that, she told herself, kneeling down to look at the origin of the cries.

There, lying on its side on the sidewalk, was a small fox. It was roughly the size of a puppy, and she marveled at the rich orange that colored its sleek coat before giggling at the white tuft crowning its pale underbelly under its chin. It looked like a marshmallow, she thought to herself, letting her eyes trail to its two splayed tails.

'_Two tails?'_ Suddenly, it became clear. That's why those children had been picking it. Those children were probably afraid of its extra tail, but coming from a family of exorcists, Hinata was used to the supernatural.

'_It's probably an ayakashi that came down from the forest and got lost,'_ she thought to herself, reaching out towards the animal that lashed out at her. Hinata winced. She had only managed to move her hand away before it bit her, and she watched it, meeting its wary gaze as it tried to struggle away, whimpering painfully as it moved.

Trailing her eyes down, she scanned over its injuries. The fur had been dirtied and there were small flecks of blood on some of the dirt stains. What worried her most though, was the broken hind leg on its left side, and whispering a small incantation, she hovered her hand over its leg. A soft blue light began emanating from her hand, flowing around the fox's leg, and a few seconds later, she lifted her hand away, watching as the fox moved its leg experimentally. Finding that its leg was healed, its gaze turned to hers, no longer wary, but curious.

"See? I'm not going to hurt you," she said. Reaching out to touch it, she smiled when it not only let her, but leaned in to her touch as she stroked its ears. Giggling when it began lapping at her fingertips, she smiled down at it. "Would you like to come home with me? I can treat your injuries a lot better there and I don't think the cook would mind giving you a meal while you're there."

At the sound of food, the fox perked up and gave a happy high-pitched yip. The fact it understood her did not shock her. Ayakashi understood humans quite easily.

"Okay," she nodded. Opening her bag, she retrieved the box that held her school project earlier that morning and removing her sweater, made a small nest in the box before gently scooping the fox and placing it inside. When it was comfortable, Hinata continued the rest of her way home, smiling as the fox stared up at her with its large amber eyes.

* * *

"Finally!"

_Crash!_ The sound of an apartment door savagely rebounding off a wall echoed as Tenten stumbled into her apartment eagerly, a large, wrapped object in her hands. What was this object exactly? Why, it was none other than her new mirror. Well, technically, it was old since she found it in an old antique/thrift store, but she had never had it before, so really it was new.

"And it's mine!" she said excitedly, closing the door with her foot much more gently than she had opened it.

When she had first spotted this mirror in the shop window of the thrift store on her way home, she hadn't thought much of it. If asked honestly, she would've thought the thing was a bit—for lack of a better word—gross. The long oval frame had lost much of its luster with some of the gold paint, now dulled with years of age, chipping off in areas. The mirror itself was intact, but years of dust and dirt had collected on it and when she had looked through the mirror, the only thing she could see was a blurred outline of herself. And so, she left the shop window and headed home with little thought of the mirror. However, that was then.

Later that night, and for many days afterwards, that mirror plagued her thoughts. She would spend hours imagining it in her small apartment and a needling voice in the back of her head would constantly tell her with a bit of elbow grease, it would be good as new (or at least, way less dirty than when she had purchased it). Eventually, she agreed that it would look nice at her place and she needed a new mirror anyway after Lee broke her old one. The boy had been showing off his martial arts moves while drunk again, and while his skills were impressive, Lee had always been a bit of a destructive drunk. Last time was her coffee table; this time, the mirror in her entryway. Luckily, the pain was sobering for him and while she retrieved her well-stocked first-aid kit and treated his wounds once more, he apologized with the upmost sincerity and promised to pay for her new mirror.

Now, Tenten knew better than to accept money from a friend who was equally as destitute as her, but Lee was relentless. But it was one of the endearing qualities of her childhood friend and even if his sense of honor was often misplaced, it didn't change the fact she loved him. If anything, it added to their brother-sister dynamic. (Though whether she was supposed to be an older or younger sister had still yet to be determined.)

Tenten shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be having these kinds of flashback thoughts. First she had to put away the mirror.

Tenten's apartment was not big in the slightest. Though she had a kitchen and bathroom in her apartment, even those were small, and her living room (which was also her dining room) was only big enough for a small television (complete with stand) that Hinata had given her as her graduation present, her coffee table, and Ino's old couch (luckily, no questionable stains were to be found when she had gotten the hand-me-down furniture). Her kitchen was a sink, a fridge, and a stove, and her bathroom was a mere toilet, sink, and shower. A small hallway led from her living room to her bedroom, and this was Tenten's apartment.

This wasn't why she didn't have many guests though. If one merely looked at her kitchen, living room, and bathroom, they'd assume Tenten's living situation to be not bad at all. No, the reason why Tenten didn't have many guests, was her room.

Tenten's room was at the back of her apartment. In it were a bed, dresser, closet, and her desk where she did all her work. Unfortunately, Tenten was not a very tidy person and strewn about her floor were old clothing and various papers and other knick-knacks. (Tenten had a penchant for collecting old things, after all.) What space wasn't covered by her clothes and homework was occupied by her bed (which took up most of the room). Her desk, resting against the wall was piled high with textbooks and old homework, and her dresser was buried under mounds of jewelry, lotion bottles, and other various items. She also had a small bookshelf and nightstand, but even those things were hidden by her various baubles. The only clean part of her room was the path leading from her bed to her closet to her door. In short, her room was messy.

This was also the room the mirror was going to go in.

Granted, placing a large mirror fitted with its own set of wheels in a room this messy was probably not a good idea, but if she put it outside, there was a strong possibility—practically a _guarantee_—that Lee would destroy it the next time he came over for a drink. At least in her room, it had a better chance of being safe, even if it was sandwiched in the corner by her desk.

Shoving away old clothing and her desk chair, she pushed her mirror, kicking the greying white carpet away when it got caught in the wheels, into the corner. Turning it this way and that, she placed it facing the bed and satisfied with herself, began raiding the closet to the right of her bed. As she did so, she thought she felt something in the mirror watching her and could've sworn that she saw something white in the mirror out of the corner of her mind, but such things were impossible and she dismissed it as merely her imagination.

* * *

"You know that stuff will kill you, right?" Sasuke asked, watching the fox demon inhale bowl after bowl of ramen as he sat on the table and swung his feet. Naruto continued undaunted, slurping loudly before replying.

"This stuff can't kill me. We're pretty much immortal, teme. Or did you forget?" the boy said knocking on the raven-haired boy's head much like he would a door. Sasuke scowled and swatted the offending hand away.

"We may be immortal, but even so, that stuff is terrible for you. And how can you eat so much? I know demons have to eat while on Earth since we expend more energy up here, but this is ridiculous. This is your fifteenth bowl!"

Naruto slurped up the noodle dangling from his lips and shrugged. "What can I say? It's a gift," he smiled, his tail trailing under Sasuke's chin. Sasuke grabbed it and threw the tail back at the boy.

"Keep your tails to yourself or I'll cut them all off. Even the ones you've got hidden away," he snapped.

"Someone's PMS-ing," Naruto said, catching the knife that was thrown his way and deftly placing it back into the knife stand. At the insult, Sasuke merely grunted and stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. After a few centuries together with Naruto, he'd learned early on that it was best to just let some things go.

"In any event, you're cleaning up this mess," he said motioning to the pots and pans soaking in the sink, evidence of Naruto's ramen binge. Naruto merely nodded, but Sasuke knew the boy hadn't heard a word of what he had said. When Naruto got started on ramen, be it conversation or otherwise, he never stopped until he was absolutely finished. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Though demons didn't eat in Hell, when they ventured into Earth, their organs became more human-like to help cope with the change. As a result, they expended energy like humans and were forced to eat food to replenish the spent energy. How much you ate depended on your rank and how much energy you expended with the lower ranks having to eat more than the higher ranks, but Naruto was a rank-6 demon. At most, he should only be eating five bowls of food a day, but _no-o-o_. He had the capacity to hold thirty bowls _per sitting_ without having expended energy. Sasuke knew of Naruto's ramen addiction before he became a demon and knew that demons could retain some sense of taste when in their human forms, but this was ridiculous! And secretly, Sasuke believed the only reason Naruto came to the human realm wasn't to check up on him, but to eat as much ramen as he could before going back to Hell. Sasuke sighed. How was he going to explain the missing ramen this time?

Ever since Naruto's initial arrival, the blonde fox had continued to visit Sasuke and each time, he would devour that human's stash of ramen. She had explained to him once that she was going to college and therefore did not have much money to spend on food and so he didn't touch her ramen stash. It was a wise decision seeing how he saw how intimidating she was when hungry (and the fact he, a rank-8 demon, was calling a merely chit of a mortal intimidating should give you a clue of how frightening it was to see), not to mention his own contempt towards the food.

Sasuke had discovered his hatred for packaged ramen one late night while that girl was doing homework, a bowl of ramen in her hands. She usually ate it when staying up to do papers and when he looked at the strange yellow broth inquisitively, she offered him some. After convincing him she had not indeed poisoned it, he had tried it—only to hastily spit it back out into the garbage can. Though she protested to having any notions of poisoning him and that was indeed how it tasted—Sasuke still doubted anything man-made could taste so foul—he told her he'd never touch it again. He'd said it with such loathing that his hatred towards the food item was obvious. That having been done, how would he explain its continued absence?

The first time, he'd given the excuse of rats having eaten the ramen (after he'd cleaned the pots). The second time, with more of the ramen gone, he'd given the excuse of large rats; the third time, even larger rats, and by the fourth time, he'd given up explaining (she had stopped believing the rat excuse long ago). This was now the fifth time and he could only hope as he thought up an excuse that the stupid girl didn't think he was a closet-ramen fan.

Luckily, his problems of coming up with an excuse were solved when the sound of footsteps began padding towards the kitchen.

"Sasuke, I'm home!" the girl shouted, and Sasuke was thankful once more that he had forced that angel to announce her presence whenever she entered the house.

"Well, it's been fun and oh gee! Look at the time. I should be going and—Ack!"

"Oh no, you're not," Sasuke said yanking the boy's shirt collar to bring him eye-level, his fingers and lips twitching as he pushed down the urge to throttle the boy. Naruto's swallow was audible when he met Sasuke's red gaze, "you still have to clean up your mess. I don't care how many minions you have to summon to do it. I am not picking up after you again!"

"Sasuke?"

Both demons turned their heads to see a pink-haired girl staring at them in shock. And that's when Sasuke realized how inappropriate their positions might have seen. The fact that Naruto was grinning did not help. Sasuke inwardly cursed.

He had lied. _Now_ he wanted to throttle Naruto.

* * *

Sakura stared at the blonde boy in front of her. He was a half a head taller than her with blonde hair and blue eyes. His lips were painted with a foxy grin, the tips of his incisors glinting in the faint sunlight from outside. Other than the whisker-like scars on his cheeks and pointed fox ears on top of his head, she would've thought him to be like anyone else on the street.

Soft fur trailed against her calf.

"Don't touch her, dobe."

Oh right, she forgot about his tail.

Watching Naruto watch Sasuke warily out of the corner of his eye after he'd stepped on one of those precious tails, Sakura thought back on their conversation earlier. After she had stumbled upon the two in her kitchen, Sasuke had gone through great pains to explain to her that it wasn't what she thought; that they weren't gay and that the reason for her disappearing ramen was the blonde boy she saw in front of her. And after seeing the bowl in his hands as well as the deer-in-the-headlights look he gave being caught red-handed—or rather, yellow-handed (he still had soup base powder on his fingers)—she had no reason to doubt Sasuke's words. A voice cut her out of her reverie.

"You're pretty!" the blonde stranger stated enthusiastically with a grin. Sakura blinked.

"Um…thank you?" she answered awkwardly, not quite sure how to take the compliment. It was quite rare for anyone to call her pretty. Usually that honor fell to Ino.

"No, I'm serious! You're super pretty!" Naruto said, nodding to himself with a thoughtful expression on his face. "If teme didn't already call dibs on you, I'd totally go after you."

At this, Sakura's gaze turned to the raven-haired male. "…you called dibs on me?"

Sasuke snorted. "Don't flatter yourself. I didn't call 'dibs' on you. And stop spewing your idiocy in front of impressionable lesser beings." A dirty look was shot at the blonde, but Naruto didn't notice. His attentions were already elsewhere.

"If you didn't call dibs on her, then hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, level 6 fox demon and your new boyfriend. I like ramen, foxes, and more ramen!" he said excitedly, only to be cuffed behind the head.

"Idiot," the raven-haired demon muttered before turning to his reluctant housemate, "and you. Even if he's a harmless buffoon now, don't encourage him. It'll only make him want to come back more."

Sakura nodded at his words, having learned that it was best to just agree with Sasuke, and merely followed the small yellow and orange foxes playing at her feet into the living room.

Naruto, however, did not take it quite as easily and began to throw insults at the "unfeeling bastard who would injure such a good and honorable friend such as himself." And it was only when a pair of chopsticks was deftly flung and embedded themselves in the wall at Naruto's eye level that the blonde stopped talking. Gulping audibly, he smiled at his patience-thin companion.

"Well, I should be getting back and—"

A hand gripped his throat and his frightened gaze trailed up the arm to the menacing face of its owner, his eyes glowing red as his lips curled into a dark smile.

"Just where do you think you're going?" he asked, his voice deceptively cool.

"N-nowhere," Naruto stammered.

Sasuke smiled wider. "That's right. After all, you still have to clean up the mess you made," he said soothing, his dark lilt betraying his tone as he looked at the mess of pots and pans in the sink behind him. Naruto gulped. That pile of dishes was going to take him forever!

Sasuke pushed Naruto towards the sink, drawing enough energy to let a claw form, knowing the fox would feel the warning and not be stupid enough to run away, "I'm going to the roof for a little while. By the time I'm back, I want those dishes like new."

And with that, Sasuke left the room. In the living room, Naruto could hear the sound of his fox minions yipping mingling with the sound of the pink-haired girl's laughter.

"I don't hear any cleaning."

Naruto sighed. Even in a weakened state, Sasuke could still terrify a person, and with a heavy sigh, he pulled up his sleeves and grabbed the sponge from the counter.

* * *

Akamara Tarou was bored. In the back of his mind, he knew he should've expected this. After all, just because he graduated from college and got a job, didn't mean that his life was going to be an action-packed adventure like the manga he liked to read. Quite the opposite. He was twenty-five, alone without even a pet to comfort him, and all his co-workers had decades on him. In short, it was the future he had always feared for himself.

'_I want an exciting job! I want a dog! I want a girlfriend to make my cute lunchboxes for me and stay up talking about nothing with her!'_ he screamed in his mind before promptly collapsing head-first into his desk, jarring the stale coffee in the mug just a few inches away.

Initially, when he had gotten his job at the Konoha geology lab, he had been excited. He had interned here before and watched all the professors conduct experiments and configure numbers. He, being an intern though, was stuck doing filing and taking notes and other menial paperwork, but he had always thought he'd be able to do some of those things once he stopped being an intern and a functioning member of the team. Unfortunately for him though, he was still stuck filing papers. Only his job title had changed.

'_Bo-o-ring!'_ he moaned to himself, not quite sure why he was being so quiet. He was the only person in the lab since Dr. Yamamoto had left two hours ago. Dimly, he could hear the doctor's voice play back to him about watching the seismograph. That had been another change when he became a full-member of the research team.

"_You're to keep an eye on the seismograph. If you spy a series of tremors, send a call on the yellow phone. It'll connect you to the city and sound the emergency alarms."_

In a way, it was a noble duty. Japan was prone to earthquakes with some being utterly devastating, and if he rang the phone, he would undoubtedly save many more lives in the disaster than if he hadn't, but after a full 40 hours of running on stale coffee and no sleep whatsoever, ideas of dramatic heroism were the last thing on his mind.

Still…, he told himself, he should check the machine—if only to placate his conscience about not doing his job and letting the good doctor down.

Flipping his head on his desk, he stared apathetically at the seismograph by his desk, watching the small needle draw an endless thin line on the rolling sheet of paper.

"Well, my duty's done!" And that was the last thing he said before dropping head-first into dreamland.

As he drifted into dreams of a pet dog and a beautiful loving girlfriend, he thought he felt a small tremor, but he quickly dismissed it. Even small tremors were normal given how they were so close to the edge of a tectonic plate and if it was only a single tremor, it was nothing to be alarmed of.

And so, the dark, jagged mess of ink on the paper was dismissed and like Tarou's dream, quickly slipped into a calming lull.


End file.
